Directed by Ted Demme
Book by Bruce Porter and Nick Cassavetes
Screenplay David McKenna (more)

Johnny Depp .... George Jung
Pen?lope Cruz .... Mirtha
Franka Potente .... Barbara
Rachel Griffiths
Paul Reubens .... Derek Foreal
Jordi Moll?
Ray Liotta .... Fred Jung
Jacque Lawson .... Biker
Cliff Curtis .... Pablo Escobar

Produced by Michael De Luca (executive producer), Ted Demme (producer), Tracy Falco (associate producer), Georgia Kacandes (executive producer), Denis Leary (producer), Susan McNamara (associate producer), Hillary Sherman (associate producer), Joel Stillerman (producer)
Original music by Graeme Revell
Cinematography by Ellen Kuras
Film Editing by Kevin Tent

Rated R for pervasive drug content and language, some violence and sexuality.

Quicktime Teaser
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med-res 4.7 MB 320x240
lo-res 2.2 MB 240x180

Quicktime Trailer
hi-res 28 MB 480x360
med-res 13 MB 320x240
lo-res 8 MB 240x180

RealVideo
Streaming

STUDIO SYNOPSIS:
In the turbulence of the 1970s, the international drug trade underwent a fast, violent and lucrative revolution ? and one ordinary American was at its center. He could have been your next door neighbor. But in just a few short years, George Jung, a high-school football star from Small Town USA, single handedly became the world?s premiere importer of cocaine from Colombia?s Medellin cartel, changing the course of an entire generation.

Blow is a high-velocity look at George Jung?s spectacular rise and fall ? based on the true story of how powder cocaine turned into America?s biggest drug problem and how one man from the blue-collar suburbs became the 35 billion-dollar a-year conduit to the Colombian cartels. Ted Demme (Monument Ave.) directs this riveting look at the manic allure ? and dangerous reality ? of a drug smuggler?s everyday life, and unfolds one of the great untold stories from the recent annals of American crime and culture.

From the hippie innocence of the 60s to the snow-blind money-chasing haze of the 80s, George Jung pursued what he thought was the American Dream. Johnny Depp stars as Jung, who started out trying to pursue the good life. Rather than become just another construction worker like his father (Ray Liotta), Jung moves to California where he discovers sun, romance and the profitable pleasures of selling marijuana. At first, dealing drugs is just a way to maintain his free-wheeling, independent lifestyle. But as he gets more ambitious, a bust stops Jung ? temporarily.

In prison, Jung meets Diego Delgado (Jordi Molla), a talkative inmate who claims to be an insider in Colombia?s rising drug trade. On the outside, Delgado introduces George Jung to Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis), the billionaire godfather of international cocaine trafficking, who has a plan to export tons of cocaine to American shores, bringing to the disco era to a far more expensive, addictive and hip form of high. Delgado also introduces Jung to a beautiful, self-indulgent party-girl named Mirtha (Penelope Cruz), who he marries. Ultimately, she gives birth to the greatest love of his life, his daughter Kristina Sunshine Jung.

Soon enough Jung is literally rolling in money, so much that he has to buy a new house just to store the wall-to-wall cash. But even as he and the Colombian coke supply usher in a new era of American decadence and broken morals, Jung begins to have second thoughts, wanting to be something more than a criminal in his daughter?s eyes. Then, just when he thinks he?s riding high, George Jung takes a dizzying fall that knocks him out of the underworld and into the hands of the Feds.

With smart humor and probing detail, Blow outlines the lifestyle of a mega-rich smuggler ? the border crossings, the ruthless negotiations, the sudden betrayals, the wild characters, the run-ins with the justice system, the inherent problems in dealing with massive amounts of cash, the temptations ? and, ultimately, the tragedy of blowing all of your dreams for greed. Blow also stars Rachel Griffiths, Franka Potente, Paul Reubens and Ethan Suplee. The screenplay is by Nick Cassavetes and David McKenna.

TWO PREVAILING THEMES
Review by KATHLEEN BRUCE
Kathleen is my wonderful, intelligent and beautiful daughter. She posted all the comments during the first two years of HJ and has helped so very much. She currently lives in San Luis Obispo, CA where she will begin college. We always make it a point to attend the City of Angeles Film Festival together. Her reviews include: Blair Witch,The Haunting, The Mummy, Talented Mr. Ripley. And don't forget to check out her section on humor.

I found that there were two prevailing, underlying themes to the movie:

1. MONEY

Money isn't real and the happiness that money brings is an illusion that quickly deteriorates. Jung watched his parents continuously fight over their financial problems. Not wanting to fall into the same trap that his father was in (living paycheck to paycheck) he vowed to never let himself become poor. Despite his father's lessons that money isn't real and only an illusion, Jung still craved it and fell into a money hungry trap. Since he hated work, he got into risky business of drug selling. It wasn't until Jung was 42 and at the end of his career that he realized his father was right about money. He came to the conclusion that he was never really happy with his life even when he had all the money to afford all the pleasures of life that most people can only dream about and envy.

2. HIS DAUGHTER

He had only experienced betrayal and disappointment since the start of his sinful career. And inevitably in the end he felt that none of it was worth the consequence of breaking the promise to the love of his life, his daughter Kristen. I thought the ending of the movie could not have been done better. His connection with his daughter, which was and is psychological, is pure and honest which I believe is the thing that keeps him motivated to live just that much longer in the hope and belief that his psychological connection will become a physical one.

AN EYE OPENER
Subject: Blow
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001
From: Roxanne

Dear David, When I first heard of your site I thought "here we go, some more proselytizing," but that isn't your angle at all. Your page is an openly honest and objective way to view the world around us. I commend you for your great work. As far as the movie Blow goes I really enjoyed it. I'm a bit biased on this one because I'm a great Johnny Depp fan. Nevertheless, the movie really opened my eyes to how an everyday individual can get sucked into greed and corruption and what it can lead to. All that glistens is definitely not gold. I'm sure George Jung has had a lot of time to pay more attention to more spiritual matters and has come to realize the things in life that are most important. I do hope he is given a chance to make amends. We have all done wrong at some point in our lives and we too wanted that chance. Keep up the good work.
Roxanne

ADDICTION
Subject: Blow
Date: Mon, 21 May 2001
From: Aaron

Blow, is a movie about the great addiction of drug usage and dealing. Starring Johnny Depp, as George Jung, a college student that gets into selling marijuana just to make a little bit of extra cash. Eventually he tries to move on to selling bigger amounts of marijuana so he moves on to Mexico, where he purchases a very large amount. He eventually gets caught for trying to smuggle the drugs and he is sent to jail. In jail he meets Diego Delgado (Jordi Molla), who tells him he could do better. Once out of jail Jung meets up with Delgado and starts selling Cocaine. Delgado introduces Jung to Pablo Escobar, a billionaire drug smuggler that lives in Columbia. The movie goes through all the ups and downs in Jungs life and his struggle in the drug world. He later meets Mirtha (penelope cruz), he marries her and they both move further into the drug world. After his first and only daughter, Kristina Sunshine jung, is born, jung vows that he isn't getting involved with drugs again. But he is eventually betrayed by his wife and is sent to jail. Once he gets out he tries desperetly to see his daughter. He gets to see her on the way to and from school, and a couple other times, if its allowed. But he falls back into the drug world, promising himself one last drug involment, but that soon goes bad. All the people that are involved in the drug smuggle are undercover and send him to jail, were he stays for the rest of his life.

REAL LIFE
Subject: Real life
Date: Mon, 21 May 2001
From: ah

I watched Blow, and later had a discussion about it with the rest of the people I went to see it with. We all agreed that the movie seemed very realistic. In no way was the director telling us to agree with the movie or even to try to relate to it. It was showing us the reality of what happens when we step into that type of situation. I thought it was quite well done, people who are heavily into doing drugs WILL probably start to sell it on the side (dealing). People who are hevily into dealing will probably start getting into "worse" drugs to deal. This movie was in no way telling us that, that is the way we should be living it was showing what this man went through. Once you get involved in that type of thing, if you don't stop fast, it only gets worse. It was showing people that even the large amount of money that George Jung had, he still was not fully happy with life. Becuase of the kind of business he was in, he didn't have any true friends. Eventually even his own mother turned her back on him because of the wrong things he was doing with his life. So in no way do I think that this movie was bad, if anything it should teach people a lesson. Fame and fortune is really not all that it's cracked up to be. Once you get to deep into the hole its almost impossible to get back out, without the proper help. Addictions like this are awful, but like what was shown in this movie, sometimes it's to difficult for the person to get out. So instead of turn on these people because we don't agree with the way they are living their lives, we need to be the ones to support them. By praying for them, being there for them and showing that we really do care. that is what I think this movie was trying to tell us.

THE SUBPLOT OF FATHERHOOD
Subject: Unforgiven
Date: Wed, 2 May 2001
From: Rev. Wesley Channell

There certainly were a lot of shared elements with Ecclesiastes. However, the subplot of fatherhood is especially poignant. The natural love and hope of a father toward his child is hard to erase, no matter how depraved and broken the image of God is in a man. The ending scenes with George becoming delusion in hopes that he would one day again see his daughter Christina are indicative of the culture of regret and broken relationships we live in. It takes the courage and love of Christ to reach out and across the broken promises of life for a child to honor their father by the mere recognition of their existence and say "I forgive you." How sad that the movie ends in unforgiveness and without hope. But how instructive of the need for God to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and the fathers to their children to bring peace and reconciliation between both God and man.'
Shalom, Rev. Wesley Channell

TASTELESS
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001
From: Michael

They should have combined this with Traffic and that way it would have been one boring, tasteless movies instead of two!

VANITY
Subject: "Blow" Movie
Review Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001
From: John Cook

Dear Hollywood Jesus,
The first thing I thought of as I left the theater after seeing "Blow" was vanity, vanity, all is vanity. I thought this was a great depiction of the deception of riches. The main character could have been anyone looking for what they can get out of life only to find that, without Jesus, it is fleeting. I thought it was appropriate to end it the way it did. Even his family and friends turned on him and left him. In the end, he is all alone. Reminded me of what life without Jesus must be like. Also reminded me that I have more riches in my faith, family, and friends than any drug czar with millions of dollars. Great cast, especially Johnny Depp and a surprisingly good Paul Ruebens (aka Pee Wee Herman).
John Cook

EXTREMELY WELL MADE, BUT HOLLOW ENDING
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001
From: Tax killer

I thought the movie was extremely well directed and acted. However, as happens with Hollywood, the portrayal of poor George Jung not having any meaningful interaction with his daughter at the end rang hollow. Combined with the sappy scene of George's Dad listening to the tape in the garage, I got the feeling that the screenwriter and director were inferring that had George just scored once more all would have been fine. Bull feathers! It is right that George end up in a place of hopelessness because he had no character. George chose the path of least resistance throughout his life. In Romans 5:3-5 Paul instructs us to learn character through our sufferings. George decided early in his life to avoid suffering and thus character. His perception of the world was actually closer to his Mother's than his Dad's. His fairness to Diego as a partner is about the only time we see any trace of character. His reaction to most things in life had the smack of what is in it for me. I think his Dad could have done his son a great favor had he been the one to call the police on George after he skipped bail in Chicago. Maybe it would have shocked him into being awake. But his father's apathy as shown in the scene as they look over all the fancy sports cars reveals a subtle complicity. I think Ray Liota played the part very well, but I also think a lot of the reason for George's ultimate hollowness as a person is traceable to his father being spineless in some respects, despite his strong work ethic. I know the point of the movie is to tell the story of George, but given the inestimable damage the flood of cocaine has brought to our nation, which this movie showed not one nod towards, I have no sympathy for Boston George. Traffic showed a much seamier side of the destructive force of drugs, but was woefully inept at placing any blame upon the pushers and users of drugs. The escapist mentality of the drug using public shows a deep need for a faith in something of a greater and higher nature for which to live, God for example. Just thought I would weigh in with my own view.
TaxKiller

WANTING FULFILLMENT
Subject: Blow
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001
From: Erik Nelson

I can relate to the hunger of wanting fullfillment. I am intrigued by what Jesus said in John Chap 4, "All who drink of the water I give them will never thirst again." Jesus was'nt talking about H2o, but that the fullfillment the world has to offer is just a facad to the food (a relationship with Jesus Christ) that puts an end to all hunger. What is this food? God has seen how we hunger and wants to fill us with His love (true fullfillment). In fact Jesus said "If they would repent and turn from their sin, then I would heal them." Repentence is the key which opens our heart God, so that he can give us fullfillment that we may not deserve, but he is so willing to give. So how do do I unwrap this gift of fullfillment which God has laid in front of me? I simply say I am sorry for buying into the fake, and ask Jesus Christ to take the place of emptiness in my life. "For those who are in Christ are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come." If upon reading this you have any questions,
E-mail me at erikosuave78@hotmail.com.
My name is Erik Nelson, I'm 23